www.ccsenet.org/ijbm International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 6, No. 9; September 2011 ISSN 1833-3850 E-ISSN 1833-8119 170 Users’ Perceptions on Internet Financial Reporting Practices in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Jordan Khaldoon Al-Htaybat Assistant Professor of Accounting Accounting and Finance Department, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University Ma’an, Jordan E-mail: kaah@ahu.edu.jo Larissa von Alberti-Alhtaybat (Corresponding author) Assistant Professor of Accounting International Accounting Department, School of Management and Logistic Sciences German-Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan E-mail: larissa.vonalberti@gju.edu.jo Khaled Abed Hutaibat Assistant Professor of Accounting Accounting Department, Mu’tah University P.O.Box 33, Karak, Jordan E-mail: Hutaibat@mutah.edu.jo; Hutaibat@hotmail.com Received: April 12, 2011 Accepted: April 21, 2011 doi:10.5539/ijbm.v6n9p170 Abstract This study seeks to explore the perceptions of users regarding Internet financial reporting (IFR) practices in Jordan. A questionnaire survey of 200 possible participants of four different user-groups was conducted to investigate their perceptions regarding the usefulness and usability of IFR as a source of information in Jordan. 114 received responses were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the analysis revealed that there is a strong agreement among the respondents on IFR being useable, accessible and available any time and from anywhere as a source of information for users’ decision making in Jordan. However, users’ perceptions regarding usefulness of IFR in decision making significantly differed. They addressed economic factors such as the cost of having Internet access and the cost of printing accounting information as two concerns regarding the future of IFR in Jordan. They also clarified that the traditional copy of the annual report is still the preferable source of accounting information for Jordanian users. Keywords: Internet financial reports, Users’ perceptions, Emerging market, Jordan 1. Introduction Financial reporting developed in the early twenty-first century from the traditional design of the printed annual report to the contemporary Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) aiming specifically to satisfy varying users’ needs. Financial reporting is the common tool of disclosing companies’ financial information, and it is predicted that IFR will gradually replace printed financial reporting as more companies will use IFR to provide financial information and communicate with accounting information users (Beattie and Pratt, 2003). In this context Oyelere et al (2003, p.38) argued that: “Internet reporting improves users’ access to information by providing information that meet their specific needs, allowing non-sequential access to information through the use of hyperlinks, interactive and research facilities, and allowing the opportunity for providing more information than available in the annual reports. This improved accessibility of information results in more equitable information dissemination among stakeholders”.